Chandler Named C-USA Freshman of the Year; Rice Next Plays FIU Wednesday Afternoon

At Rice - Climbed to No. 2 on Rice’s all-time list for career saves 20… 2015: All-Conference USA (first team); Delivered on his selection as a 2015 preseason all-conference honoree by leading the league, and ranking tied for 33rd in NCAA Division I, with 11 saves… Also placed among the C-USA leaders with 30 appearances (tied for third), opponents’ batting average of .218 (sixth), 70 strikeouts (tied eighth) and a 3.07 ERA (tied tenth)… Fanned 70 batters in 58.2 innings, an eye-opening average of 10.7 strikeouts per 9.0 innings of work… Maintained a 4.1-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio and a team-leading 1.12 WHIP for the full season… Gets extended work in practically every appearance, averaging almost exactly 2.0 innings per outing… Pitched 2.0 or more innings in a game 16 times, including a season-high 4.0 innings twice (vs. UTSA and Louisiana Tech)… Fired 3.1 scoreless innings in relief vs. crosstown foe Houston Baptist for a save in his most recent outing in the NCAA Tournament… Contributed to three of the pitching staff’s five shutouts… Did some of his best pitching against the nation’s elite, maintaining a 1.86 ERA with three saves and 18 strikeouts in 9.2 innings against teams that were nationally ranked when the Owls faced them... Pitching style proved to be able to get more than twice as many ground ball outs (72) than fly ball outs (30)... 2014: Emerged one of the team's break-through pitchers, taking over the as the Owls' new stopper (when Zech Lemond was moved out of the bullpen into a starter's role)... Shared the team-lead with 26 appearances, including 24 in relief and two starts... Finished among the Conference USA leaders in saves (9), ERA (1.83), opponents' batting average (.198) and WHIP (0.90)... Electric in averaging 10.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings, and maintaining a 6.4-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio... Set the tone for a sensational year when he pitched in relief of Jordan Stephens on opening day at Stanford and proceeded to strike out 10 batters in 4.0 innings (both career highs at the time)... Notched first career save against a Cardinal team that went on to play in the NCAA Super Regionals (and just missed advancing to the College World Series)... Recorded saves against Old Dominion, Southern Miss, Texas-San Antonio, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech and Tulane (twice)... Winning pitcher against Florida International, UAB, Florida Atlantic and Louisiana Tech... Often stepped-up with a with extended work on the way to saving nine games and earning five wins - averaging 2.1 innings over 24 bullpen outings... Pitched 5.0 innings in relief three different times, vs. C-USA foes FIU, FAU and eventual NCAA regional participant Old Dominion... Did not allow any runs over a stretch of 17.1 innings in seven appearances from March 2 to March 23... Answered the call to start the second home game of the season against crosstown rival Houston (Feb. 19), and held the eventual Super Regional-bound Cougars to just one run on four hits in a career-long 7.1 innings... Was named to the all-Silver Glove team for the annual season-long series vs. Houston... Second start was against eventual NCAA Tournament team Sam Houston State... 2013: Conference USA Academic Honor Roll; Successfully made the move from serving as a bullpen catcher during a redshirt season to a contributing Division I pitcher... Tied for seventh on the staff in appearances (16) and finished eighth in innings (18.0)... Strikeouts-to-walks ratio for the season was 5.7-to-1... All but one appearance was out of the bullpen - his collegiate debut as the Owl starter in the team's fourth game of the season vs. Dallas Baptist (Feb. 19)... Was the pitcher of record against DBU after surrendering four runs in a career-long 2.2 innings with a career-high four strikeouts... Settled-in to a reliever's role after that DBU start where he proceeded to maintain a 2.63 ERA in his next 13.2 innings over a span of 14 appearances... Pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in the Conference USA Tournament victory over UCF... Maintained a 1.59 ERA in 5.2 frames against C-USA foes... Finished the year with 17 strikeouts, an average of 8.5 Ks per 9.0 innings... Fanned three batters in a game twice, a pair of 2.0 inning outings at home against Harvard and on the road at La Tech... Held all opposing hitters to a composite .278 batting average... 2012: Did not see game action in first season with the program... Served as a reserve catcher with the task of helping prepare the Rice pitchers in the bullpen... Had the full-confidence of the Owl coaches to work with one of the top collegiate pitching staffs in the nation... Played locally in the Carl Young League over the summer.

High School - A 2011 graduate of Lamar Consolidated High School in Rosenberg, Tex.... Third-team 4A all-state catcher by the Texas Sports Writers Association in 2011... Second-team 4A All-Greater Houston by Houston5ABaseball.com... Selected to play in the Houston Area Baseball Coaches North-South All-Star game... Three-time all-District 23-4A honoree, including first team catcher as a senior... Helped lead the Mustangs to a 23-7 record, the quarterfinals of the 4A Region III playoffs, and No. 6 ranking in the state... Program won in three district titles in four years as a starter for head coach Phil Schwarz, the 23-4A co-coach of the year in 2011... Batted .350 with five home runs and 20 RBI as a senior... Maintained a .310 average with 60 RBI during prep career... AP Scholar with Honor... National Honor Society... Member of Speech & Debate.

Personal - Full Name: Matthew David Ditman... Born: August 13, 1992, in San Diego, Calif.... Parents: Mark and Diane Ditman of Richmond, Texas (one sister)... Father is an Associate Vice President at Rice... Chose to attend Rice over Baylor, Penn and Columbia... College: Baker